If Jose Iglesias needed a lesson in how quickly things can change, he need only look around the Red Sox clubhouse.

Last year, his locker was a destination for reporters hungry to write about the Next Big Thing. The defensive maestro would open the year in Pawtucket, displace Mike Aviles in early May and never look back. Hello Gold Gloves, and move over Ozzie Smith.

A year later, Iglesias works in relative obscurity. The reporters who once visited his locker every other day now either stop short to talk to veteran Stephen Drew — signed in large part because Iglesias simply has not proven he can hit — or they breeze right past to grab a minute with Jackie Bradley Jr., the young star whose dazzling promise has Red Sox fans thinking big.

Iglesias? He’s a man without a home. He’s got no place on the 2013 Red Sox as long as Drew is around. And he may not have a place on the 2014-2024 teams, either, if prospect Xander Bogaerts is as good as everyone thinks.

So Iglesias puts his head down, works on his hitting, and focuses on himself.

“I just want to be a better player. I just want to be a better teammate,” he said. “I work hard. That’s all I can control. There’s no pressure at all. You’re playing the game.”